Zoo studies + Exquisite corpse drawings

The Amsterdam Zoo (ARTIS) becomes a site of intervention in this work that considers images in an emancipatory way. It engages drawing, printmaking and cinema as forms to think with as well as experiments around image construction. The quest(ion) of modernity is dissected by looking at the tension that comes with the need for progress and the consequences of this acceleration.

The animal and natural world has long been used as a symbol of/for progress in many works of art in Europe. For example, the imaginative rhinoceros print by Albrecht Dürer, photographic studies of motion by Eadweard Muybridge, Rembrandt’s elephant drawings, Goya’s studies of animals as a form of societal critique and studies of insects by Maria Sibylla Merian. The animal provides an entry point to the idea of transformation through imagination, motion and metamorphosis.

Further notes on this are featured in Matter Mattering Matters: A Scienticity Reader as part of my long form essay Units of Measurement under the sub-title Taxonomy & naming: on looking, erasure and illegibility.

During the Rijksakademie Open Studios 2025 (May 22-25) I will present some of the drawings below in book form as well as some exquisite corpse lithography prints and limestones. This will be in conversation with some prints and books pulled from the state owned collections housed inside the Rijksakademie. The collection reflects on three centuries of educational practice at the Rijksakademie and the development of art and artistry in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and beyond; covering work from the 18th century to the present day.

There are limited opening hours in this space. During this time, I will give a brief introduction about the work for 25mins.

Dates: 22, 23 & 24 May 2025

Time: 13:30 – 13:55

Location: Collection Depot (A) Floor plans will be available

Venue: Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten- Sarphatistraat 470, Amsterdam